The vision and principles of India’s foreign policy were outlined much before her independence from Britain. The Indian national congress since its inception had informally maintained semi-autonomous diplomatic relations and supported freedom movements all across the World. At a time when all Asian and African nations suffered from European colonialism, Jawaharlal Nehru had decided to voice his support for the common struggle against imperialistic forces. In various sessions, before its independence; The INC applauded and sent letters expressing solidarity to various Countries. In the Lucknow session of 1938, the INC vehemently supported the independence movement of Palestine and Egypt against Western imperialism. The INC was also instrumental in pressuring the Netherlands to end its atrocities in Ghana and other central African nations. In the 1940’s India condemned Japanese aggression on china and also condemned the Korean War. India’s foreign policy rests on four philosophical pillars:
· Opposition to imperialism
· Active sympathy and support for people fighting against oppression
· Opposition to war and devotion to peace
· Avoiding foreign entanglements
Nehru’s foreign policy won India many friends across all parts of the World owing to its non-aligned nature and complete avoidance of meddling in other countries internal matters. Since, independence India has gone to war 5 times. War with china and Pakistan coupled with a dynamically integrated global market economy forced India to initiate changes in its outlook and approach to immediate neighbors and distant partners. Due to India’s size and location; it remains a major power player in South Asia. Today India is part of various international alliances such as BRICS, G-20 and Asian Development Bank.
The Non- alignment Movement
Post 1945 the World was divided in two power structures dominated by USA and Soviet Russia. The. Both countries had forged satellite states to keep engaging and weakening their enemies. During the cold war the Soviet Union had most of its satellites in Eastern Europe (Warsaw pact) and garnered support from other socialist countries in Africa and South America. The USA had its allies in the South pacific and the North Atlantic Ocean. The NATO (North Atlantic treaty organization)[1] is the military name of the US led alliance. The USA was a democratic polity which believed in free market capitalism. The United Soviet Socialist Republic was a communist regime which believed in planning and subsistence. These were also the two biggest economies of the World. It is marked that at the end of the war and break-up of USSR the sizes of the US and USSR economies were $ 5.2 trillion and $2.4 Trillion respectively. 1947, India- a newly formed nation state oriented itself as a welfare economy. Although, non-aligned with any international groups India grew closer military and strategic ties with the Soviet Union due to its socialist posture. This worked to the frustration of the USA as India refused to be party to SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization). The SEATO much like NATO was intentioned to ensure that communism did not spread across Asia. Its members were The USA, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Pakistan. The SEATO alliance didn’t last very long and USA started growing its military and economic co-operation with Pakistan. This had several repercussions for India. At the time when the Soviets were fighting in Afghanistan; US supported jihadists to overthrow the Soviet Army. After the collapse of Soviet Union many of these terrorists started operating in Indian Kashmir. US financial and military assistance also helped Pakistan wage three major wars against India.
Foreign Policy in 1960
In 1962, India went to war with China and was defeated. This led to an economic catastrophe for the domestic economy. India lost critical territories in Arunahcal Pradesh and Askai Chin in Kashmir. The war was initiated by China to annex Tibet. Sikkim voluntarily seceded to India, this irritated the Chinese leadership. India was forced to rethink its policy objectives in its neighborhood. Burma- an important neighbor in the North East borders the states of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. Because of its strategic location between India and China Burma is very crucial for India. India and Burma shared important commercial and cultural ties after 1948. However, in the 1960’s a military coup supported by china altered relations with Burma. The Burmese economy collapsed. Overnight its economy turned to racketeering, drug smuggling. Burma also became a source of illegal arms export to rebels in India and South East Asia . Also, the Indian community was thrown out of Burma by the military leaders. India continued to support the democratic freedom movement of Ang Su Kyi. However, in 1993 India recognized the military leadership in Burma and started engaging in economic and military co-operation to fight terrorism and developing Burma’s ailing infrastructure. The Myanmar experience prompted the Indians to seeking deeper and more reliable strategic partnerships in South East Asia to counter China.
Foreign policy 1970
Within a decade since 1965 India had gone to war with Pakistan twice. During the 1965 war Pakistan’s defense establishment felt that; India was still reeling from the defeat to its military in 1962. However, that wasn’t true. India had increased defense procurement from France and the USSR, regrouped its military strength and defeated Pakistan. 1971 was a turning point for Indian foreign policy. India went to war with Pakistan again and broke the nation state of West and east Pakistan into two. This was in light of the atrocities in the name of ethnic cleansing of Bengalis that the Pakistani military generals had ordered. After, three wars within a decade. India chose to play a more strategic role in Asian politics and also pledged more peace keeping troops for the UN missions across conflicted regions of Asia and Africa to increase its clout in Global Politics. Presently there are more than seven thousand active Indian troops in UN peace keeping missions- the third highest in the World.
1980’s
The Nineteen eighty’s saw a slight change in India’s attitude towards developing capitalist economies. India was increasingly depending on aid from the United States and European Union. It is contended that the exploitative form of capitalism that India suffered during the Raj prompted her policy makers to keep a meddling USA at bay and forge closer ties with socialist states. But, the changing economic order and the collapse of the Soviet Union set the foundation for a India that is now open to trade. India increasingly ran budget deficits and was being pressured by developed countries to open its economy. India was left isolated in the sphere of power politics as most Soviet satellite states it had ties with: collapsed with the USSR and some went under the aegis of NATO. In this decade India was need a new ally who could support it militarily at least. Following this India and the State of Israel established full diplomatic relations. This relationship was forged out of mutual need to combat a Islamized Pakistan; which has since threatened India and Israel with nuclear its nuclear capabilities and a need to counter domestic terrorism. A remarkable aspect is that besides lending support to the Palestinian cause, Israel continues to partner with India in every sphere of the economy.
1990’s
In the ninety’s India had majorly opened its economy to foreign trade and investment. It sought greater ties with the United States. With liberalization of its economy, India forged new relationships with ASEAN countries. Trade with ASEAN is growing by at least 25% annually. The Ninety’s was a defining year for India’s foreign policy. By the late ninety’s it was clear that America was keen on investing and producing in India’s burgeoning markets and even defence. There was a remarkable movement of NRIs to countries such in the Middle East, USA, Australia and several countries of the European Union. The European Union is India’s second biggest trade partner with an annual trade of 17 billion euros. A liberal economy led to movement and interaction of the already sizeable Indian diaspora. The pursuit of civil nuclear deal, seeking of a permanent seat at the UN Security Council and defense ties with the USA are the most prominent aspects of India’s foreign policy in the ninety’s.
2000’s
The decade began with a hard fought victory over Pakistan in The 6Kargil war. It is in this era that India decided to make a crucial- hardline shift in its foreign and economic policy. India deepened strategic ties with Israel, while making sure that closer ties with Israel didn’t jeopardize its relationship with the 5Arab World. India realized that in order to become a democratic counterweight against China it would have to seek partnerships beyond its neighbors and big developed economies. India initiated relations with the African Union and made slight policy changes in order to increase interaction with the burgeoning North American nations like Brazil and Argentina. It must also be marked that many previously warring East European nations like Bosnia and Serbia which had stabilized by the end of the last decade; opened its consulates in India. In the year 2004 the civil nuclear deal with USA was accorded India’s favour.
SAARC
According to the International Democracy Watch, SAARC was founded by India and six other Southeast Asian nations in 1985. The organization was created to promote understanding and cooperation in a variety of fields between countries in the region. India has been a member of SAARC consistently since the organization’s beginnings, and Indian representatives were heavily involved in drafting the charter that all the nations eventually signed.
India also frequently plays host to SAARC committee members when they meet for organizational summits. For example, the 1986 summit, in which the duties of the SAARC secretariat were revised and expanded, was held in Bangalore, India. In 2007, the 14th SAARC Summit was held in Delhi, India. This summit was notable because it marked the first time a new country was invited to become a member of SAARC when representatives from Afghanistan signed the charter.
Bid for Permanent Membership of the Security Council
As the World’s fastest growing major economy and with the fourth largest military India has significantly demonstrated its capabilities in shaping and directing policy in South East Asia. Since, early two thousands, India has been making an effort for permanent membership of the UN security council which is chaired by five countries- USA, China, Russia, France and UK. India currently faces certain domestic problems like poverty, meagre economy compared to the other permanent members and low amount of unilateral financial contribution to the UN. Although, it should be marked that India is the third largest contributor to the 7UN peace-keeping force. India’s membership has been supported by a majority of other nations but is vetoed by China.
Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal
The civil nuclear deal is a bilateral trade deal between the United States and India. The deal would enable India to purchase nuclear raw material- plutonium and thorium from various supplier nations. This deal will also allow India to build nuclear infrastructure for the purpose of the future energy requirement of its civilian population. The deal was controversial and had faced a lot of opposition in its initial stages. However, it has moved towards India’s favour after serious and timely amendments, inspections and understandings.
The deal had initial support from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Russia, and Germany. After some initial opposition, there were reports of Australia, Switzerland, and Canada expressing their support for the deal. Selig S. Harrison, a former South Asia bureau chief of The Washington Post, has said the deal may represent a tacit recognition of India as a nuclear weapon state, while former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph says the “U.S. State Department made it very clear that we will not recognize India as a nuclear-weapon state”.
Norway, Austria, Brazil, and Japan all warned that their support for India at the IAEA did not mean that they would not express reservations at the NSG. New Zealand, which is a member of the NSG but not of the [6]IAEA Board of Governors, cautioned that its support should not be taken for granted. Ireland, which launched the non-proliferation treaty process in 1958 and signed it first in 1968, doubted India’s nuclear trade agreement with the U.S. Russia, a potentially large nuclear supplier to India, expressed reservations about transferring enrichment and reprocessing technology to India
BRICS
As of 2015, the five BRICS countries represent over 3 billion people, or 42% of the world population; all five members are in the top 25 of the world by population, and four are in the top 10. The five nations have a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion, equivalent to approximately 20% of the gross world product, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.
The BRICS is an international group of emerging economies namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The purpose of the BRICS is security cooperation, economic trade and protection of common economic and political interests against the might of the EU. India is one of the key members of the BRICS. Currently, China is the biggest contributor to the BRICS fund and the BRICS Bank (New Development bank) is headquartered in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The African office of BRICS is in South Africa.
Conclusion
India’s left leaning non-aligned foreign policy had plausibly ensured many long run partnerships from all parts of the World. However, due to the dynamic nature of the changing World economy and changes in the Indian economy has forced it towards aligning its co-operation with the developing World. India’s policy is also to keep a rising China at bay. Increased hostility from both Pakistan and China is pushing India towards US and Israeli defense co-operation. The Indian economy is perhaps the largest potential investment destination for all the major economies that are seeking new overseas opportunities for their dormant economies. Also, it must be noted that India’s shift towards a relatively aggressive player in the South Asia’s regional politics is a result of its rightist central government. It is remarkable that India’s close ties with Israel and the USA hasn’t jeopardized its friendship with the Arab Countries. The overt support of democratic countries for India is to see it rise as a democratic counterweight against a powerful and unprincipled Chinese aggressor.
